In Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the heart of that process is a plan which the debtor and the debtor’s attorney file with the Bankruptcy Court. This plan explains how the classes of creditors are going to be paid. The rules regarding Chapter 13 plans are fairly rigid with the statute stipulating how the debtor is supposed to treat certain creditors. Claims secured by a mortgage on a home or a car loan are frequently not going to be changed or modified by the plan, which means that the debtor can continue making the normal monthly payments to that creditor. When that’s the idea behind the plan, we call this paying the secured creditors “outside the plan.” The debtor is paying the money directly in hand to the creditor and is bypassing the Chapter 13 trustee. It makes the administration of the case much easier and it makes payment of the claim less complex.